


Just Married

by BeaRyan



Category: Revolution (TV)
Genre: Gen, Humor, Revo Redux, Snark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 03:52:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1414096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeaRyan/pseuds/BeaRyan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miles and Rachel are sitting with their new in-laws, Tom and Julia Neville, at Charlie and Jason's wedding reception.  Whether or not you ship Jarlie shouldn't have much impact on your enjoyment of this one.  This was written for Revo Redux. As requested, it's passive-aggressivey and (hopefully) delicious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Married

Julia took careful steps across the warped floorboards of the empty space the bar used as a dance floor and made her way back towards the table. She had been sincerely grinning, pleased with herself, as she turned away from her brief conversation with the band leader, but when her eyes landed on her destination, the table where Tom, Jason, Charlie, Rachel and Miles awaited her, her true smile was replaced by a frozen one. Come hell or high water, her son would have a wonderful wedding day. It was hot and dry in Texas in June, the bride looked like a deer in headlights and Julia was the only one at the wedding reception not openly carrying a weapon. It wouldn't take too much more to convince her she was in hell. 

She had almost paid off the minister to skip the line asking if anyone objected. Only the bride, the groom, their parents, and the minister had attended the wedding and she still figured he was rolling the dice on half of them when he’d asked the question. For better or worse, they’d all stayed quiet. All they could do was ride this runaway wagon now and try to steer it to a safe stop. If by some unlikely miracle this story had a happy ending then she wanted to make a good impression on her new daughter-in-law. If it crashed and burned then she’d still be able to say she’d supported her son’s dream. 

"What did you do?" Tom asked as she settled beside him. 

"You'll see," she said as she planted a kiss on his cheek. She reached for Jason, placing her carefully manicured fingers over his large, heavily veined hand and squeezed. He pulled his eyes away from Charlie, a rarity all day, and smiled at his mother. Of the six of them he was the most obviously happy, and for Julia that was, if not enough, at least a good start. 

The group sat silently for a moment. Miles stared into his whiskey, and Rachel's small, tight grin didn't come close to hiding her true feelings about this turn of events. Tom was just bemused by it all, and his shit eating grin chafed Miles more than his betrayals ever had. This one was personal. Charlie’s gaze was focused like a laser on unimportant things. It had been the sign on the wall for a while, but she’d moved her eyes once asked what was so fascinating. She stared at her own hands, then at Julia's on Jason. When the first notes of the wedding march began, silencing the low murmur of the bar that had reigned since the band went on break ten minutes ago, she snapped to attention. 

The music stopped after a few bars and the singer, Julia's recent companion in scheming, tapped a knife to the side of glass, the sound ringing out over the small early evening crowd in the bar. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have newlyweds in our midst. I assume they chose this..." She let her eyes trail over the crowd of dedicated drunks and market vendors getting a bit in the bag before they headed back to their farms. "This exceptional wedding reception venue.” She paused again to let the crowd chuckle. “Because we're the only place in town open after the market closed. But as we’ve all learned in the Blackout, limited options don't mean you made a bad choice. Please put your hands together and welcome them to the floor for their first dance as husband and wife. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Jason and Charlotte Neville."

Charlie blanched at the words and reached for her whiskey glass, but Jason grabbed her hand, pulling her with him as he stood. 

"I'm not changing my name," she said. 

"We'll talk about it," he answered. He strode towards the dance floor with big, proud steps, tugging Charlie along behind him. When he reached the center of the empty dance floor he draped her hands around his neck and placed his own around her waist. They swayed more or less in sync as the singer warbled along with the piano to a song that had been popular before they were born. 

The crowd watched them sway, giving them the first minute of the song to themselves. When other dancers moved to join them on the floor, Julia turned her attention to Rachel. "She's not changing her name? How modern."

Miles slugged down the dregs of his drink and reached for the bottle in the center of the table. "Jason can barely stand to be a Neville. Why would Charlie want to join up? Maybe Jason should take her name." 

"Indeed," Tom sneered as his eyes landed on Rachel. "Some people like joining up with the Mathesons so much they do it twice." 

"My son is not taking her name," Julia said. "Don't be ridiculous. She'll take his. I assume there will be grandchildren, and they will be Nevilles." 

Miles and Rachel exchanged a glance, subtle but enough, and Tom scoffed. "Hell no. They've been back together three weeks. That's enough time to maybe be a little worried. It's not enough time to decide you better get married. They’re idiots, but they aren’t that dumb." 

Miles agreed. "Charlie wouldn't get married just because she got pregnant. She knows she can count on us." He looked to Rachel for confirmation, but his tone lost its certainty. "She knows, right?"

Rachel's eyes were on her daughter and son-in-law on the dance floor. Now on the second song and thinking she’d escaped her family’s scrutiny, Charlie had relaxed. Her head rested on Jason’s chest and a smile, so small it looked accidental, quirked her lips, making her cheeks fuller and her eyes slightly crinkled. "She looks happy. Safe. How often do we make her feel safe?" 

Tom said, "If that's all you want for her, get her a divorce and a dog." 

“I didn’t think you’d want him back so badly, Tom,” Miles dug. “Can’t stand that exactly no one cares what you have to say now?”

“He’s still my son,” Tom answered. 

“Yeah, but you’re leaving for Washington in the morning and he’ll be staying here with Charlie. Julia’s the alpha in your pack, and with no one else on the bottom I guess that makes you the bitch.” 

“You seem awful eager to claim him. Planning to have my son bottom for you, Miles? Not getting enough love from Monroe?” Tom’s eyes darted to Rachel. “Is your boyfriend’s boyfriend the jealous type.” 

“Enough,” Julia snapped, levelling Tom with a look. “I’m going to go dance with the groom. I trust you will behave while I’m gone.” 

Julia charged away from the table but gained control before she reached the dance floor. 

Tom’s eyes never left his wife as he said, “Shall we place our bets?”

“On what?” Rachel asked. 

“Julia’s going to steal Jason away. Your daughter can either give him up and leave the floor, chased off and dominated by her mother-in-law, or she can refuse and look like a bitch in front of her husband. Personally I hope she goes with option two. It’s about time some of the shine that boy sees around her wore off.” 

Miles quickly crossed the floor, reaching the newlyweds only a heartbeat after Julia. He took Charlie’s hand as Julia took Jason’s and the awkward but traditional ritual of the adult and adult-child wedding dance began. Miles rocked back and forth between his right and his left foot, neither pulling Charlie in nor pushing her away. Julia and Jason stood formally and stiffly, their bodies such precisely measured distance apart it looked like a dance class rather than a celebration. In her heels Julia was almost as tall as Jason, but the uneven boards of the floor didn’t hinder her boxstep as they moved across the floor like animated mannequins. 

Tom and Rachel watched silently through the first song. When it ended, Julia didn’t let go of the groom and Miles refused to cede ground. Tom plastered a smile on his face and turned to Rachel. In a tone dripping poisoned honey he asked, “So when does your other daughter arrive?” 

“I’m sorry?” she questioned. 

“Mathesons marry in pairs, right? One bad and one good one per set. I’m wondering when the smart, stable, likable sister-wife gets here. I’d like to meet her.”  
“Cute,” Rachel answered. “You are just adorable. Your insightful comments are so helpful and wise. I can’t imagine why Jason was so eager to marry right out of your family and into mine. We’ll be sure to take better care of him than you ever have.”

“I taught him how to take care of himself.” 

“You taught him to take orders. I’m sure Miles appreciates that. Charlie is capable of making her own plans, but Jason just does what he’s told. He’s a good little soldier.” 

“You’ll need good soldiers if you plan to defeat the Patriots.” 

“Do you even want us to? You keep saying you’re going to Washington to ‘infiltrate’ them. My money is on you going to Washington to take over the Patriots. Dreaming of an empire, Tom?” 

“You’re sleeping with the Butcher of Baltimore and staging raids with General Monroe of the Monroe Republic and you’re going to sit there and throw shade at me? I see your daughter isn’t the only woman with a brass set in your family.” 

Rachel gave him an innocent, cherubic smile. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” 

The dancers returned to the table. Julia strode towards them more quickly than the others and extended a hand to Tom. “Come take a walk with me.” 

“With pleasure,” he answered. Charlie, Jason and Miles took their seats as Tom and Julia headed out the front door of the bar. 

“What did you say to him?” Charlie asked. 

“Nothing much,” Rachel said. “He admired my testicles and I thanked him for the compliment.” 

Jason’s eyes widened and he turned to Charlie. “She doesn’t really…” 

Miles answered. “No idiot. She doesn’t really.” Miles turned to Rachel. “The women in your family have terrible taste in men.” 

Rachel suppressed a smile and took his hand under the table. “It might look that way from the outside, but it’s not true. We’re generally pretty happy with our choices once we make them. Isn’t that right, Charlie?” 

Charlie nodded, assessing her mother as Rachel turned her attention back to Miles and continued to speak. “It might not make sense to anyone else, but if you just stop fighting it and stop caring what other people think, you can find some happiness.” 

They sat and listened to the music while sipping their drinks. When the next song began, it was a slow one Charlie recognized. “Go dance,” she ordered. Miles and Rachel both turned to stare at her. “It’s my wedding and I say it’s OK if my mom dances with my uncle slash her boyfriend. Go.”

They both began speaking at once, not in words but in stutters and vowels. She cut them off. “I didn’t say I wanted to talk about it. You’ve both been supportive today and I’m returning the favor. Take your own advice. For tonight, let’s all just be happy.”

Miles waited until Charlie looked directly at him. “Are you sure this is OK?” 

She repeated, “For tonight, let’s all just be happy.” 

That night, they were.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a companion piece to a Jason and Charlie focused wedding story on FFN. While this one is snark heavy and it doesn't much matter if you ship Jarlie or not, the audience for that one is the incredibly small group of people who like complicated Jarlie. http://archiveofourown.org/works/1418646/chapters/2980626
> 
> Comments, crit con, etc. welcome.


End file.
